5 reasons why Women should do strength training!

I know a lot of my friends on facebook are converted already but this post is for the women who don't do strength training. I know there are still a lot of myths in our fitness industry still about women and strength training. The fear of bulking up is one myth that has to go!!!

BTW my heading should read strength and conditioning training, but i thought was too long! Strength can mean alot of things and bear in mind there are different types of strength and strength training. But what i am talking about here is lifting heavy shit for between 1-5 reps without failure. Strength for you is totally different to the next person, it's your strength training, which is individual. As an example some people find it hard to do 1 full push up. That would be a strength movement for them, where other people can blast out 20,30 or more push ups, this would be endurance for them.

So here is a small list as to why women should do strength training :

1. Strength training will strip off your unwanted body fat. Because of the high intensity nature of lifting heavy objects this will have an increasing demand on your metabolism. Over time your body will start burning calories at a faster rate and you will still be burning at a faster rate after your strength training session. Coupled with a good diet you will delve into your fat stores and become more lean.

2. Strength training will tone and build your muscles. Now don't be afraid of the term build! Although there is nothing wrong with build but it might bring a bulky body builder to mind and that might not appeal to some. Body building is completely different to strength training. For womem or men to body build, you first need the right hormones, genes, and then you need to spend and dedicate lots and lots of time in the gym and eating a very strict diet. Most of us don't qualify for this :(

3. Strength training can be done a minimum of twice per week, although i would recommend more 2-4 times per week.The sessions are generally shorter due to the high intensity of strength training. You generally use multi-joint movements that train lots of muscels at the one time. So you will spend less time in the gym overall. More time for you to do the other things that you iike :)

4. Strength training will get you strong, yes an obvious one i know! You will find daily tasks much easier to do and you will achieve more if you play a sport. Overall you will feel great getting out of bed with more energy to take on the world.

5. Strength training, particularly with a group of women can be so much fun. I can see this at kettlebellsireland classes when we do strength sets. The girls push each other along and when they put a weight overhead that they have never lifted before, there is always a great smile and sense of achievement :) Training with a group of like minded people brings a great bond that can't be found anywhere else. It gives a person great confidence in all walks of life.

I will leave it at 5 but i can't forget the functional side of strength training. The movements that we do tend to mimic daily and sporting activities, pushing, pulling, squating, lunging, pressing, to name but a few.

So get off the treadmill and get to a strength training class. There are many kettlebell (make sure the right kind) strong woman, strength and conditioning classes around the country. Go find them and do it. You will get your results with this type of training. Contact us for more information. We have instructors in most parts of Ireland.

Function & Fitness Ireland FFI will be a launching a new type of training for women soon. This training will be available in Ireland.